Conditions help limit park fire

POST FALLS — As ruthless as Mother Nature can be when it comes to wildfire conditions, she can also come in handy.

The proximity of the Spokane River, trails, little wind and the early-morning timing of a fire in Kiwanis Park on Friday helped firefighters keep the blaze in check and from further threatening nearby homes.

"The trails acted as fire breaks, helping to contain the fire prior to the arrival of fire personnel," said Jeryl Archer, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue fire marshal. "Having the river close helped because units drafted water directly out of the river."

Smoke from the fire that was about half an acre was reported by a resident on Shoreline Drive around 1:30 a.m. Archer said it took a little while to find where the smoke was coming from.

"A fire at 1:30 in the afternoon would have been a whole different fire than one at 1:30 a.m.," Archer said. "The fire behavior was low in intensity due to the nighttime temperatures and favorable wind conditions."

Archer and the Idaho Department of Lands don’t know what started the fire.

"There's a high possibility that it was human-caused, but the cause was undetermined," he said.

The fire in the southeast corner of the park came within roughly 200 feet of homes, Archer said. It appeared to be burning for some time before it was reported moving slowly in brush and large pine trees.

"The fire stayed on the ground," he said, adding that it would have been a different story if it had climbed the trees.

KCFR crews remained on scene until about 4:30 a.m. and IDL thereafter.

"In the last week there have been several moderate to large fires in Kootenai County and this is just another reminder that the wet spring and now hot summer, the taller vegetation that we saw is now drying out and the potential for larger fires in the county this year is becoming greater," KCFR Battalion Chief Justin Capaul wrote in an email.